Direct Line Travel Insurance Reviews

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Direct Line Travel Insurance
★★★☆☆
2.7
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Latest Reviews

“Denied travel claim against policy wording”

★☆☆☆☆

written by andbrads on 13/02/2023

Tried to claim under the travel insurance policy where a domestic flight in Australia was cancelled and we were rebooked for an arrival 30 hours later. The policy wording states: "✔ Delayed departure We will pay up to £200 for each insured person for additional accommodation, travel and refreshment costs if you have checked in and your pre-booked aircraft, ship or train is delayed by more than 12 hours beyond the time shown on your travel itinerary. We will also pay up to £500 for each insured person for any unused accommodation and travel expenses (including any excursions up to £150) if you are late arriving at your destination as a result of a delay of more than 12 hours beyond the time shown on your travel itinerary" They have weaselled out of the claim on the grounds that the original flight number was cancelled and we were rebooked on different flight numbers. This simply isn't reflected in the policy wording or the exclusions. The aircraft we were booked on was delayed (as it went tech.) so I cannot see how their stance is reflected in the policy wording. The operative also explained that they could not list every scenario in what is covered and what is not covered in the policy wording - and this simply wasn't covered!! OK then. Avoid at all costs. There are no consumer protections for flights in Australia so we have been left seriously out of pocket for rebooking ourselves for a scenario that the policy wording plainly covers.

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“A truly awful frustrating and time consuming claims...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Azulp91 on 11/01/2021

Absolute nightmare dealing with a very simple travel cancellation claim. For a flight cancelled due to Covid in May 2020 we have finally received a settlement from Direct line in January 2021 of about half of our claimed amount. The original bookings were made long before Covod had even been heard of. Policy excesses aside, they have given no explanation of how they reached they amount of their 'full and final' settlement. Just a cheque in the mail. I've had to make dozens of phone calls and sent even more messages with Direct line trying to wriggle out of the claim at any and every opportunity. Fortunately I keep very good records but I imagine most people would just give up. They asked for copies of email correspondence with the owners of the holiday apartment we had booked, copies of bank statements, copies credit card statements, copies of paypal statements, declarations form the airline (you try getting an airline to declare anything!!) , declarations from the apartment owners. They questioned exchange rates between Euro and GBP payments. They even wanted to see my marriage certificate! This has been the single most frustrating insurance company I have ever had the misfortune to have had to deal with. If I added up all the hours I have wasted dealing with Direct line trying to get them to even deal with our claim, it has actually cost me a lot of money. Even at basic minimum wage rates it wasn't worth submitting our £800 claim for the aggravation Direct line cause. We will certainly not been renewing our building, contents or travel insurance with Direct Line and the quote we have recent requested for insurance on a second property we are buying is going straight into the bin. This company appears to have a clear strategy to delay and frustrate any claim. Our claim was really quite simple so heaven help anyone who had a complicated large value claim. They couldn't have made the claims process more drawn out and frustrating if they had tried. My recommendation is avoid this company and spend your money wisely; elsewhere.

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“Poor, did not want to pay out”

★☆☆☆☆

written by EastonMoss286 on 20/01/2020

When things went wrong with flight I phoned and they gave me advice on rebooking flight. I booked new flights. On my return when claim made they did everything to avoid paying out. Said I was not insured as soon as I entered the airport? In the end as I was escalating my complaint they gave me an ex gratia payment to cover my claim, even though they said my claim was not covered. Other travellers with us got their replacement flights refunded from other insurance providers straight away with no hassle. I would not purchase this insurance again. Although I have an annual insurance I shall be buying a second policy for my trip as I have no faith in direct line. House insurance will not be renewed when the policy runs out.

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“Complicated, unreasonable and changed their minds”

★☆☆☆☆

written by MicaelaSutton494 on 08/12/2017

All sounded easy when I phoned in a claim Then the email arrived and asked for lots of extra things I had to upload No way of emailing them and webchat unmanned Said they would settle my claim but half hour later emailed me asking for more information

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“Awful after 4 months of admin nightmare still no...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Reesfh42 on 13/11/2017

Communication is poor and delayed with information given changing. Also constantly having to go through all the basics as you never deal with the same person. Their upload system for documents needs work as they do not see the upload dates which has led to enormous confusion. I have abandoned the claim and just swallowed the cost. I will never use them again. Sad as there house insurance has always been amazing.

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“Outstanding service”

★★★★★

written by Collinshi321 on 16/09/2015

I have just read the reviews of others and therefore felt compelled to offer my recent experience with Direct Line Travel Insurance. On a recent holiday in the canaries I had a fall and broke my vertebrae. As a result I was hospitalised for a week. I had fantastic treatment and care throughout. My wife was kept updated throughout and all of her questions and quieres were answered. Initially, the hospital said I would need to remain with them for 3 months. Direct Line reassured us and said that I would be repatriated to the UK as soon as they were able to make the arrangements. They looked at a number of options and decided that in my case they would arrange an air ambulance. My accident happened on the last day of our holiday and so my wife decided that she needed to return home with our son. She discussed this with Direct Line and they agreed to pay for her to return to the canaries to be with me and she flew with me in the air ambulance on the return flight to the UK. They paid for her accommodation, her meals and other expenses. At the airport in the UK we were met by a private ambulance crew who transported us to the spinal injuries unit and into the care of the NHS. Personally, our experience has been very positive and I would recommend Direct Line.

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“Travel insurance review”

★★★★★

written by Taylor-Alt192 on 17/06/2015

I rang, sounding irritated I am sure, to say that my insurance docs hadn't been sent to me although my account had been debited. It transpired that I had, in error, booked with a company with a very similar name. The DL woman at the end of the phone was extremely helpful and patient. Most impressed!

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“Shocking service, missold insurance, ”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Danclem on 12/01/2015

I bought direct line discoverer insurance. Then I became sick in New Zealand, and had to claim and get insurance cover, due to my illness I had return to the UK, Once back in the UK, I recovered and wanted to travel again. So I rang directline and clearly stated I was back in UK and my plans of which I wanted to travel. This included Europe, Philippines and Morocco. I also clearly stated I would travel to the UK I between these trips on the phone. The guy on the phone checked with senior staff and said this would be fine and so I paid the alteration fees and extended my cover. In France I became injured and needed to claim, I rang up directline who in turn told me my insurance is void for returning to the UK, they checked my previous conversation with the sails team via the recorded phone call system, and come back saying yes we miss sold you the insurance but no it's still void and your no longer covered and shall get no refund. They will cover my claim but will still void my insurance. I think if you miss sell a product which should cover your until a certain date, they should have to maintain that agreement, I as a customer provided the right information and clearly stated my intensions which they agreed to cover my and take my money. Very frustrating. There solution was to ring me to apologise but then no refund or offer of a solution, I think companies like this are a joke. Bottom line do not use these guys. My friends have been insured with there competitors and have had no issues.

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“Included travel insurance”

★★★★☆

written by Kadenk95 on 09/01/2015

Got my house and contents insured with Direct Line. It also included travel insurance at no extra cost. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with lung cancer in October and surgery in December. I had a cruise booked at the end of December for myself and my wife. I claimed on the Direct Line "free" travel insurance. To my amazement, I have just received a cheque from Direct Line for the whole amount of my claim ( less excess ). I am well pleased with the result. Thanks Direct Line.

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“This company is both unscrupulous and inhumane in...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 07/01/2015

This company is both unscrupulous and inhumane in their approach to the client.

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“Expensive and lengthy claims process”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Sanders142 on 29/12/2014

My daughter purchased an annual policy but then fell very ill in Turkey. Unfortunately the person who dealt with insurance claims at the hospital was not there at the time so they suggested that they treated and then we could sort after. After turned out to be over six months later and not before my daughter had spent around £50 gathering additional evidence. Communication from Direct Line was confusing, always delayed unessesarily and sometimes downright unpleasant. My daughter remains seriously out of pocket having also had the excess deduction and an exchange rate applied that I didn't feel was correct but we agreed that there was little point in pursuing and just cut our losses. Would never insure anything with Direct Line again.

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“OK - Until You Make A Claim”

★☆☆☆☆

written by LingfieldGambler on 10/07/2014

We had a family worldwide policy with Direct Line for 10 years. Some years we never traveled beyond Europe. Most years we paid extra to include skiing. Some years we paid extra to include scuba diving. Until this year, we never made a claim. A couple of times when the children were young, they had sniffles - we saw a Dr and paid ourselves, not making a claim as it would have been for very little money after deducting the excess. On 17 February 2014, my wife suffered a small accident skiing. Direct Line refused to fund some tests, which the Doctor insisted should be done as soon as possible. The total value of claim was c£1,500. I estimate our total premiums over the past ten years have been well in excess of £2,000. To date (10 July 2014) Direct Line have still not paid the Hospital, and we continue to get increasingly aggressive letters from the Hospital, demanding payment. We have turned all paperwork requests from both the Hospital and Direct Line around within a day or two. We have sent Direct Line all the paperwork twice. When we phone up Direct Line to ask what is going on, we get told, 'sorry we have a backlog and payments take some time'. On 8 July 2014, Direct Line sent us a letter saying that after 10 years, they would not renew the policy as we had made a claim! When I phoned to query this, the adviser told me that he would register my complaint that they had not offered renewal, but that the decision would not be overturned. I wish I had known earlier in the ten years what Direct Line would be like if/when I made a claim....

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“Stress free claim”

★★★★★

written by SMB-UK on 29/07/2011

Sadly our trip had to be cancelled due to medical reasons. DL Staff were not only sympathetic, but offered advice every step of our claim; from advice before claiming, to answering questions during it. The claim was part settled within 7 days - the airline needed to close our ticket before the rest is paid - but they contacted me immediately to inform me of the additional paperwork they needed. The amount of £35 excess is very reasonable compared with other companies, and my Mother, who had a different provider, has now found that the £25 she saved on the policy has been eaten up by the £60 excess she had to pay as will as the smaller items which were quibbled over. I will be taking all future policies out with them too.

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“Holiday fight cancellation”

★☆☆☆☆

written by altory on 08/07/2011

Direct line are a good travel insurance until you make a claim they use every twist and turn to avoid paying out. I had booked a flight only trip in December 2010 which we had to cancel due to my wife needing a operation and was informed by the hospital on 30th May 2011 she could not fly(6 days before we were due to leave). I contacted Direct line travel insurance claims dept to see if I could claim they said yes and sent the appropriate forms, I paid a additional £25 to get cancellation letter from travel company on directline Insistance it was needed. They then said I could not claim as my wife had been pescribed anti inflametry tablets prior to booking for symtems relating to the claim. This was a load of bull the doctor had given the wrong diagnosis which he changed after we made the booking and it this that led to the cancellation. If insured with direct line be careful you don't have a cold when booking holiday it may turn to the flu.

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Wullbee's Response to altory's Review

Written on: 15/06/2013

Yes direct line are good at taking money and not giving any sympathy when making a claim
We are a family of 4 we were going to Greece for 2well earned weeks after a hard year with my father I'll on the day before we were meant to leave my father got taken into hospital and through complications passed away we were in shock and the obvious happened we had to stay and make arrangements
Good old DIRECT LiNE no sympathy ! No claim ! No cover they said because he had cancer we weren't covered he wasn't even going with us
£1800 lost into thin air Thanks again Direct Line I will never be robbed by you again feel so gutted and cheeted

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Woolyback's Response to altory's Review

Written on: 31/07/2017

I have just had exactly the same problem. After having an MRI scan on my knee I was given Voltarol Gell and told my knee was just a bit worn. Booked holiday as I was assured all was fine but my knee was not just a bit worn as I now need an urgent knee replacement. Direct Line will not pay out because I was prescribed the Voltarol Gel before I booked the holiday. Beware, if you have insurance with this company you have to report all prescribed medicines during the year just in case, otherwise you may lose your cover.

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“Avoid Direct Line Travel Insurance!! ”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 23/02/2011

Avoid Direct Line Travel Insurance!!
Have just had the worse experience with a snotty nosed 'Sales Consultant'(literally he could not stop sniffing whilst on the phone)
Asked for single trip quote as annual policy cost at £167 was too high - what do you know the single trip quote was £14 more !

When I pointed this out, he went 'oh, is it? Lemme check .that's a good one '

When asked to explain he admitted

'That's how the (computer) system works'
'I can't explain I can only give you an indication' then blathered on about how it may have something to do with the length of the trip (23 days) which he claimed is 'longer than the normal trip' - clutching at straws here?
'Sometimes it works out that the annual policy is much better value ' - why on earth would anyone take out single policy then???

Then he went on the defensive by saying 'what do you want to hear' this was the point where I said 'You're giving me some bull- - - - reason'

He said 'hang on there's no need to swear'he was obviously brought up in a convent then...

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Guest's Comment

Written on: 22/06/2011

What the hell's this got to do with travel insurance, he's taling about the sales rep not the product

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“We travelled to Mexico in 2006 with our 2 son's aged 6...”

★★★★★

written by on 12/01/2011

We travelled to Mexico in 2006 with our 2 son's aged 6 and 2 and my 6yr old had a near drowning, and ended up in a private clinic on life support, Direct Line were fantastic and honoured all costs straight away. My son got brilliant treatment, including all ambulance travel to and from his physio and all hospital care including allowing me to stay with him. When we came home they then allowed an extra £25,000 to cover legal costs to sue the hotel for damages. They didn't charge us any excess either. Worth the £50 i paid for the trip, completely priceless and great company!! Only problem was we were put in touch with a canadian company whilst out there who dealt with the claim and they were the slow ones who didnt seem to be in any kind of rush!! But direct line themselves were great, really pleased and i owe them a lot!

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“I was travelling the next day so needed the policy...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 03/11/2010

I was travelling the next day so needed the policy emailed over asap. Firstly, I didn't receive an email, had to call them and find out that they got my email address wrong even though I confirmed it about 3 times with them!

Eventually received policy via email but had the wrong surname of my friend! Called them up in the evening for it to be corrected and resent and they advised that they don't email over any policies!!! WTF!

Had to complain and speak to the manager and was advised that they will email it over the next morning. Things crossed!

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“While in Italy in July my husband had a heart attack...”

★★★★★

written by tjhyde44 on 17/10/2010

While in Italy in July my husband had a heart attack and was in hospital in Brindisi for a week. Direct Line were excellent from the moment I contacted them. They got in touch with the hospital -for proof of claim, of course, but also to monitor the situation with regard to date of release and my husband's condition. They arranged and paid for taxis (one trip alone cost 500euros),hotels and flights home.They later reimbursed us for the cost of meals,local travel and phone calls related to the case.A doctor was sent from London to accompany us home - right to our front door in fact. We cannot speak too highly of Direct line Travel Insurance. First class.

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“We use Direct Line as we assumed that they were a...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 24/09/2010

We use Direct Line as we assumed that they were a large reliable and honest company. Imagine our surprise when we had to claim against them for holiday curtailment. Be warned! You are not covered for the cost of the holiday flights only for the extra cost you will have to pay in the event of having to return home early. We spent £3000 and were offered only £300 after spending 2 days in Canada (from the UK) and having to return due to my mother-in-law having a life saving (leg removal)operation. They have missled us into thinking we had adequate cover! As I have three other policies with this company I will be now changing them to other suppliers!

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“Had been with Direct Line for number of years for...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 09/11/2009

Had been with Direct Line for number of years for Annual Travel insurance. I tried to claim for my share of a family vacation which I had to cancel due to illness. The situation was straightforward - i had a note from my doctor that i couldn't travel - but they refused to honor the claim. The problem was that since my family went on holiday without me, there was no proof that i didn't go, i.e. nothing like a letter of cancellation with a booking agency. I was very dissatisfied with the service. The process took months, was extremely bureaucratic, and they clearly looked for every opportunity to reject the claim. They might give good service if you have a straightforward claim, e.g. a lost camera for which you have a receipt, but you could get that level of coverage with a decent credit card. I'd suggest avoiding them.

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